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Thunderbolt
The Thunderbolt heavy fighter is one of the two main fighter aircraft patterns used by the Imperial Navy, the other of which is the Lightning air superiority fighter. The Thunderbolt is the mainstay weapon system of Imperial Navy fighter wings and is a rugged, well-armed and armoured heavy fighter with all-around capabilities, a good maximum speed and above-average maneuverability, powerful nose-mounted weapons and hard points located on the wings for missile or bomb load-outs. It is an aircraft that is well-liked by those who fly and service it and it has served the cause of the Emperor for many centuries. The Thunderbolt's primary combat role is as an air superiority fighter. It seeks out and engages enemy aircraft in dogfights or hunts enemy bombers to establish air superiority. The Thunderbolt's greatest strength is its versatility, since it has good performance as a high-altitude escort fighter while it is also serviceable in the roles of a low-altitude fighter-bomber, night fighter or even as a reconnaissance aircraft when necessary. History A heavy fighter combining devastating strike potential with a high degree of speed and manoeuvrability, the Thunderbolt formed the bulk of the ''Imperialis Armada's'' intra-atmosphere fighter aircraft during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy eras during the 30th and early 31st Millennium. The Thunderbolt was a true workhorse, with a rugged and reliable design, beloved of its crews and feared by its enemies. The Thunderbolt's versatile array of armaments enabled it to tackle all manner of missions, making it ideal for dominating the skies of alien worlds as the Solar Auxilia landed, and supporting them in battle as they advanced. The Thunderbolt could fulfill a range of missions, from hunting tanks and ground strikes, yet its main role was that of an air-superiority fighter, engaging enemy craft in dogfights or hunting down enemy bombers. Its most famous characteristic, however, was sheer resilience and it was not unusual for a Thunderbolt to land riddled with damage that would have downed a lesser craft. Characteristics Whilst the Lightning air superiority fighter is faster than the Thunderbolt, with a better climb and dive rate, it is also a great deal less well-armoured, less versatile in the same range of situations as the Thunderbolt and far more finicky, demanding a great deal of attention from its maintenance crews. Like the Lightning, the Thunderbolt is equipped with a Promethium-fueled rocket engine, maneuvering thrusters and an ablative ventral surface that provides it with a limited trans-atmospheric operations capability. However, this capability was provided only for transportation and deployment from an Imperial Navy starship into a planetary atmosphere and was not intended for space combat, which means the Thunderbolt is not a true starfighter, a role normally filled by the Fury space superiority fighter. The rocket engine and thrusters allows a Thunderbolt to deploy from an Imperial Navy starship in low planetary orbit into an atmosphere and can then be used at the end of combat operations to allow a Thunderbolt to return to its mothership after using its twin air-guzzling turbofan engines to reach its maximum operational altitude. Because of this operational capacity in a vacuum, all Thunderbolt pilots are required to wear full, vacuum-sealed flight suits and helmets. The fighter's rocket engine is also used to allow the Thunderbolt to make extremely rapid launch rail take-offs from its mothership or a ground base. Once airborne using the rocket, the Thunderbolt engages its turbofans. Imperial Navy fighter wings can possess a wide variability in the number of aircraft or starfighters they contain. They normally consist of between 10-20 aircraft or starfighters although some are much larger. Each Imperial fighter wing, in addition to its numeric designator, also takes a name that is usually that of a real or mythological flying creature. There are thousands of fighter wings in service on the Imperial Navy's myriad starships, space stations and ground bases in use by the various Sector and Segmentum Battlefleets all across the galaxy. Armament The Thunderbolt's main armament is carried in its blunt nose with the gun barrels protruding, and consists of two sets of twin-linked Autocannons that are fire-linked together, with two on each side, and a set of twin-linked Lascannons on its forward dorsal area. Compared with the Lightning's single Autocannon and two Lascannons, the Thunderbolt is obviously capable of a much higher total rate-of-fire and a much greater volume-of-fire, resulting in the Thunderbolt being capable of inflicting substantially more damage than its smaller and lighter counterpart. The Lascannons are primarily used in the fighter's ground attack role to punch through the heavy armour of enemy vehicles, whilst the Autocannons are the kinetic weapons of choice for strafing enemy infantry formations and dog-fighting. The heavy fighter can also carry six tactical bombs, four air-to-surface Hellstrike Missiles or six air-to-air Skystrike missiles on its external wing-mounted hardpoints, without sacrificing the use of any of its main weapons, whereas the lighter Lightning fighter must sacrifice a weapon to carry external hardpoints, usually its single Autocannon. A Thunderbolt already has an unusually long operational range for a heavy fighter, but when the situation or mission parameters call for it, a Thunderbolt can be outfitted with external Promethium fuel drop tanks for increased range. Design Features The Thunderbolt has a heavy, rectangular fuselage rather than a more streamlined tubular body, which is flanked by a thrust tunnel containing a large, turbofan jet engine on either side of the aircraft. The wings are mounted on the thrust tunnels and very slightly forward-swept. The angular cockpit is set about halfway down the fighter, with the remaining back half dominated by the tail section, complete with two tail-planes and a single tail-fin. The whole of the Thunderbolt is armoured with 45 mm of ceramite armour plate. Being a larger and heavier airframe than the Lightning, the Thunderbolt is slower and less maneuverable. However, it is considerably more durable, capable of taking damage that would destroy a Lightning outright. The Thunderbolt also has greater range, thanks to its more powerful engines and larger fuel tanks. Combat Role on the ground]] Thunderbolts are most commonly used in an air superiority role, where they intercept enemy aircraft and engage in dogfights with them. Thunderbolts are especially effective against enemy bombers as the Thunderbolt's large weapons array can punch through bombers' usually heavy armour, and Thunderbolt armour can withstand -- to a degree -- the withering fire of bombers' multiple turret guns better than its counterpart Lightning fighter. Because of its versatility, the Thunderbolt is also deployed as close air support for Imperial Guard or even Space Marine units. The Thunderbolt can attack enemy armour or infantry on the ground using Hellstrike Missiles, its Lascannons for penetrating the armour of enemy vehicles and its Autocannons for strafing enemy infantry positions. Notable Variants *''Kestrel''-class Interceptor '- The ''Kestral-class Interceptor is a void-capable version of the Thunderbolt heavy fighter, and was used by Battlefleet Demeter against the Black Legion's incursion into the Pandorax System. This variant eschews the Thunderbolt's standard Autocannon armament in lieu of additional energy cells for its Lascannons. In order to operate in the void of space, the flyer is not propelled by regular combustion engines but instead a power cell-fueled powerplant, whose output can also be directed to supercharge its weapons. Whilst being a void-capable vessel, it still retains some features of its forebear out of respect for the Omnissiah, chief amongst them being an ejector seat with built-in parachute, a tail rudder, and the hydraulic wing flaps that are only needed for atmospheric flight. *'''Cypra Mundi Pattern Thunderbolt - The Cypra Mundi Pattern is the name given to the basic and most widespread template of the Thunderbolt in use by the Imperial Navy. Notable Thunderbolt Wings *'83rd' Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Eagle Squadron - Served on the Desert World of Quatara-Prime and during the Taros Campaign. *'386th' Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Falcon Squadron - Served during the Taros Campaign. *'409th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Raptor Squadron' - Served on Enothis during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. *'490th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Wyvern Squadron' - Served during the Third War for Armageddon. *'672nd' Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Dragon Squadron - Served in the campaign to recover Rynn's World from the Orks of WAAAGH! Snagrod; commanded by the famous Imperial ace Flight Commander Richter Dagor-Jani. *'717th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing' - Served during the Siege of Vraks. *'789th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing' - Served on Enothis during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. *'1002nd Imperial Navy Fighter Wing' - Served during the Taros Campaign. *'1019th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing' - Served during the infamous "Black Week" on Typha IV against the Tau. *'1303rd' Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Serpent Squadron - Served on the Ocean World of Tyrama Secundus. *'1922nd Imperial Navy Fighter Wing' - Served during the Raid on Kastorel-Novem. *'3659th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Harrier Squadron' - Fought against the Eldar on the world of Lammas. *'5th Khulan Imperial Navy Fighter Wing' - Served during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. *'XX Phantine Air Corps, "Umbra" Flight' - Although they theoretically belong to the Imperial Guard, the Phantine Air Corps are often called upon to fight alongside Imperial Navy wings. Umbra Flight abandoned its Lightning fighters for the heavier Thunderbolt shortly before their deployment to Enothis. *'101st Imperial Navy Pacificus Elite Wing' - The lauded "Apostles" are the elite fighter squadrons of the Imperial Navy. The 101st Apostles served during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade and distinguished itself on the world of Enothis. *'Betalis III Planetary Defence Forces' - Served during the defence of Betalis III against the Eldar of Craftworld Mymeara. Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications Sources *''Apocalypse'' (4th Edition), pg. 126 *''Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy'', pp. 223-228 *''Imperial Armour Volume One - Imperial Guard'' (Second Edition), pg. 266 *''Imperial Armour Volume Three - The Taros Campaign'', pg. 92 *''Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks - Part Two'', pg.71 *''Imperial Armour Volume Eight - The Raid on Kastorel-Novem'', pg. 46 *''Imperial Armour Volume Eleven - The Doom of Mymeara'', pg. 105 *''Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus'', pp. 25, 206, 208-209 *''Imperial Armour Aeronautica'', pp. 9-11, 76-84 *''Aeronautica Imperialis'' (Rulebook), pp. 6, 9, 12, 20 *''Tactica Aeronauica'', pg. 28 *''The Horus Heresy - Book Four: Conquest by Alan Bligh, pg. 275 *''The Sabbat Worlds Crusade (Background Book), pp. 27, 82 *''Double Eagle'' (Novel) by Dan Abnett *''Pandorax'' (Novel), by C.Z.Dunn Also See *'Lightning' *'Imperial Guard Vehicles' Gallery Thunderbolt1.png|Thunderbolt of the 83rd Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Eagle Squadron, desert camouflage for operations on Quatara-Prime taros44thunderbolt.JPG|Thunderbolt of the 386th Fighter wing, deployed during the Taros Campaign Thunderbolt Armageddon.png|Thunderbolt of the 490th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Wyvern Squadron, Ash Wastes camouflage scheme used during the Third War for Armageddon Thunderbolt Codex Grey.png|Thunderbolt of the 386th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Falcon Squadron, Codex Astartes-compliant grey colour scheme with the 386th Wing's distinctive red markings Thunderbolt Ace.png|Thunderbolt of the 672nd Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, Dragon Squadron, distinctive personalised colour scheme of Flight Commander Richter Dagor-Jarni, the Wing Commander and a top Imperial ace during the campaign to retake Rynn's World 717th Wing Thunderbolt.jpg|Thunderbolt of the 717th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing, deployed during the Siege of Vraks Thunderbolt Heavy Fighter Dorsal View.jpg|Dorsal View of a Thunderbolt of the 717th Imperial Navy Fighter Wing , 14th Aircraft of its squadron, deployed during the Siege of Vraks Imperial Navy Thunderbolt.jpg|Imperial Thunderbolt Fighter, Front View Thunder4.jpg.jpg|Imperial Thunderbolt Fighter, Rear View Kerrack Thunderbolt.jpg|A patrol of Thunderbolts surveys the Calnix Channel during the Scourging of Kerrack; each Thunderbolt carries the distinctive colour scheme and markings of the Kerrack Air Command, denoting it as a unit of the Planetary Defence Force ES:Thunderbolt Category:T Category:Aircraft Category:Attack Craft Category:Imperial Aircraft Category:Imperial Navy Category:Imperial Spacecraft Category:Imperial Vehicles Category:Imperium Category:Spacecraft Category:Vehicles